Allosteric mutations impact the catalytic activity and oligomeric state of the main protease of coronavirus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the urgent need for effective antiviral strategies. A promising target is the 3CL protease of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, a crucial enzyme for viral replication. This study explores the structural and functional roles of specific amino acids essential for enzyme activation and dimerization, revealing potential allosteric sites as novel drug targets.

Transcriptome analysis of Huh7 cells upon Chikungunya virus infection and capsid transfection reveals regulation of distinct cellular and metabolic pathways.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes persistent arthritis and neurological problems imposing a huge burden globally. The present study aims to understand the interaction mechanism of Chikungunya virus and CHIKV-capsid in Huh7 cells. The RNA-sequencing and qRT-PCR method was used for the transcript and gene profiles of CHIKV virus and CHIKV capsid alone.

Valorization of Kappaphycus alvarezii through extraction of high-value compounds employing green approaches and assessment of the therapeutic potential of κ-carrageenan.

This study utilizes different emerging green extraction technologies to recover maximum value-added products from Kappaphycus alvarezii and evaluate their bio-functional properties. Using the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) method, the total lipid yield of 0.21 ± 0.

Deciphering the role of fucoidan from brown macroalgae in inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 by targeting its main protease and receptor binding domain: Invitro and insilico approach.

The current study investigated the role of fucoidan from Padina tetrastromatica and Turbinaria conoides against 3-chymotrypsin like protease (3CL) and receptor binding domain (RBD) spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 using an invitro and computational approach. The 3CL and RBD genes were successfully cloned in pET28a vector, expressed in BL-21DE3 E. coli rosetta cells and purified by ion exchange affinity and size exclusion chromatography.

Dengue virus induced autophagy is mediated by HMGB1 and promotes viral propagation.

Dengue virus (DENV) exploits various cellular pathways including autophagy to assure enhanced virus propagation. The mechanisms of DENV mediated control of autophagy pathway are largely unknown. Our investigations have revealed a novel role for high-mobility group box1 protein (HMGB1) in regulation of cellular autophagy process in DENV-2 infected A549 cell line.

STAT3 inhibition mediated upregulation of multiple immune response pathways in dengue infection.

Dengue infection is a world-wide public health threat infecting millions of people annually. Till date no specific antiviral or vaccine is available against dengue virus. Recent evidence indicates that targeting host STAT3 could prove to be an effective antiviral therapy against dengue infection.

High-mobility group box 1 protein promotes dengue virus replication by interacting with untranslated regions of viral genome.

Dengue virus (DENV) is most prevalent arthropod-borne human pathogen belongs to Flaviviridae family causes thousands of deaths annually. HMGB1 is highly conserved, ubiquitously expressed, non-histone nuclear protein which plays important role in diseases like metabolic disorders, cancer, and viral infections. However, the importance of HMGB1 in DENV infection is understudied.

Dengue virus induces interferon-β by activating RNA sensing pathways in megakaryocytes.

Activation of innate receptors in megakaryocytes (MKs) may affect the ability to produce functional platelets. Low platelet count is one of the clinical manifestations of dengue virus (DENV) infection. In MKs, the effect of innate receptors during DENV-infection is not well studied.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) acts as a proviral factor for dengue virus propagation.

Dengue fever is a significant mosquito-borne viral disease that affects millions of people every year. As a co-existing mechanism, DENV has evolved to evade elimination by the host antiviral immune system. DENV is reported to modulate host interferon response either by attenuating the factors that mediate interferon response like STAT1 and STAT2 or inhibiting the activation of STAT1 or by STAT2 degradation.

Role of nuclear localization signals in the DNA delivery function of Chikungunya virus capsid protein.

Capsids of several RNA viruses are reported to have unconventional roles attributed to their subcellular trafficking property. The capsid of CHIKV is also found to localize in the nucleus, but the rationale is not yet clear. To understand the role of the nuclear-localized capsid, we examined the nucleic acid binding and cargo delivery activity of the CHIKV capsid.

Evaluation of novobiocin and telmisartan for anti-CHIKV activity.

Chikungunya has re-emerged as an epidemic with global distribution and high morbidity, necessitating the need for effective therapeutics. We utilized already approved drugs with a good safety profile used in other diseases for their new property of anti-chikungunya activity. It provides a base for a fast and efficient approach to bring a novel therapy from bench to bedside by the process of drug-repositioning.

In-silico and biophysical investigation of biomolecular interaction between naringin and nsP2 of the chikungunya virus.

Chikungunya virus; the pathogen for chikungunya febrile and arthritic disease, having 11.8 kb positive-sense RNA genome encodes polyproteins for structural and non-structural regions. The polyprotein (P1234) corresponding to the non-structural part from 5' end gets auto-cleaved by the action of nsP2 protease, which leads to the generation of individual functional enzymatic proteins like nsP4, nsP1, nsP2 and nsP3.

Interaction of potyvirus helper component-proteinase (HcPro) with RuBisCO and nucleosome in viral infections of plants.

Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) causes severe disease in Phaseolus vulgaris plants. One of its non structural protein, the helper-component proteinase (HcPro) involves in multiple roles in aphid transmission, RNA binding, suppression of gene silencing and protease activity. The multifunctional role of HcPro hint towards its regulation at multiple host cellular sites.

TIM barrel fold and glycan moieties in the structure of ICChI, a protein with chitinase and lysozyme activity.

The ICChI is a 35-kDa, glycosylated protein isolated from the latex of the weed Ipomoea carnea. It displays chitinase and lysozyme activity, which could be important for the defense against pathogenic fungi, insects and bacteria. The ICChI enzyme was crystallized, and a diffraction data set was collected from a single crystal to 1.

Differential expression of structural and functional proteins during bean common mosaic virus-host plant interaction.

Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV), the most common seed-borne pathogen in Phaseolus vulgaris L. is known to cause severe loss in productivity across the globe. In the present study, proteomic analyses were performed for leaf samples from control (healthy) and susceptible BCMV infected plants.

Elucidating the functional aspects of different domains of bean common mosaic virus coat protein.

The coat protein (CP) is the only structural protein present in the polyprotein of bean common mosaic virus. The well known characteristics of the CP are self-oligomerization and nucleic acid binding activity. The studies of the coat protein mutants revealed that the oligomeric property of CP solely depends on the amino-terminal residues and the nucleic acid binding domain present at the 194-202 residue position.

Evaluation of medicinal herbs for Anti-CHIKV activity.

Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease is now a global public health problem. In tropical countries such as India, periodic chikungunya outbreaks can occur due the high prevalence of the mosquito vector, circulation of virus and the high population density. To curtail the virus in outbreak situation, a ready to use drug for chikungunya is necessary.